The Governess' Testimony
by Casa Circe
Summary: LOTURA WEEK 2018, Day Five: Peace and Alliance. In the midst of the madness, Allura found herself forming a bond with an unexpected individual, Lotor's old governess, Dayak.


**LOTURA WEEK 2018 Day 5**

 **Peace and Alliance**

 _ **The Governess' Testimony**_

 **DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender.

 **NOTE:**

 _This turned out to be a pretty different interpretation of the prompt than I had expected. I really loved the introduction of Dayak, her tutoring of Hunk, and Lotor's dorkiness around her. I wish that we could have spent more time with her as I'm sure she would have been an interesting person to get to know. Anyway, that is what fan fiction is for, I guess. So the alliance here is, surprisingly, not between Lotor and Allura but between her and his governess. If the circumstances had not been so grave, this would have so much potential for hilarity. But alas._

 _Anyway, I hope you like this piece and please let me know what you think!_

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Altean and Galra standing side by side, putting an end to centuries of enmity and bringing peace and harmony to the universe. The work that their fathers had begun, they had brought to fruition.

Allura had believed in that dream. And she now knew that, in his own twisted way, Lotor had believed in it too. But what he had done to achieve it she could never find a way to forgive.

And with Lotor's "disappearance", the Galra empire returned to chaos and division, what little semblance of unity that had begun during his ascent to the throne dissolved completely. The Blade of Marmora tried to take advantage of the power vacuum but it was proving to be more challenging than they had ever anticipated.

In the midst of the madness, Allura found herself forming a bond with an unexpected individual, Lotor's old governess, Dayak. Despite everything, Allura believed that Hunk had been on the right track when he decided to learn about Galra culture. The paladin had maintained relatively friendly contact with the older Galra, who had come to respect him for passing her difficult tests, and so Hunk arranged for the princess to speak to her.

"Is every attempt at a Galra and Altean alliance doomed to fail?" Allura asked sadly.

"The history of the Galra has always been centered on conflict," Dayak replied sagely, "We have all grown up knowing its inevitability and learning how to survive in the struggle."

Although she would never admit it out loud, Allura secretly wanted to learn more about Lotor from someone who had known him since childhood. She still wanted to understand what had led him down that road to madness.

When the governess had been told of what had become of her former charge, she looked saddened but not completely surprised. Allura remembered the pride in the old Galra's eyes as she spoke of Lotor's defeating his rivals and lighting the Kral Zera, and it was clear that she had had high hopes for him.

There had also something about Lotor's manner with her that had suggested that, for all her strictness, the governess had a good relationship with him.

"Certainly better than what he had had with his real mother," Allura had thought, and so she wondered what insight Dayak could offer into Lotor's dark soul.

"You have many questions about him," Dayak surmised, "But I'm afraid I will not be able to answer them all. This much I can say: he had always been a precocious child, a fast learner and one determined to excel. He always felt that he needed to prove himself to the other Galra because of his heritage so he worked harder than others at his lessons. I never had a student more proficient."

"That much I can believe of him," Allura said, almost with a smile, as she imagined a younger version of Lotor, his brow knitted in concentration whether he was studying ancient texts or sparring with the other soldiers.

"But he was always adept at keeping secrets," Dayak said with a sigh, "And there came a time when I realized that there was not much left that I could teach him."

They exchanged somber glances as they remembered where Lotor was now.

"Do you believe that he is still alive then?" Dayak asked, at length.

"In a manner of speaking," Allura replied, "Although I doubt that he is the same person you or I knew."

"He's spent a lifetime wearing masks," Dayak remarked, "But it seems that with you, he finally showed his true self, at least for a moment."

"I'm not so sure," Allura said sadly, "And I don't know what to do about him now."

"He chose his path," Dayak declared firmly, "So he must suffer the consequences. That is the Galra way."

Allura nodded somberly. They both agreed on the emperor's fate but somehow this gave them no comfort.


End file.
